Many patients who are committed to bed for short or extended periods of time are unable to make use of ordinary restroom facilities. This is particularly true for persons that are comatose or unconscious for longer periods of time. All of these patients are often diapered and are typically wholly reliant upon family members or other care givers for assistance with their basic sanitary needs, including relieving themselves.
In these situations, it is not only important that the waste be removed from about the patient, but it must be removed promptly so that it does not foster other health problems such as rashes and infection. To assure the these undesirable results are minimized, waste that does contact the patient must be washed away and the skin dried. These cleansing steps help minimize skin irritation and infection of the patient.
In addition to the health concerns associated with the patient's inability to deal with their own waste, there are also more aesthetic concerns such as cleanliness of clothing and bedding, and odors that are often associated therewith. Still further, the patient may also suffer emotional discomfort and other embarrassment because such situations cause their dependence on others for such intimate matters associated with their bodily functions.
It is therefore a fundamental object of the present invention to overcome the limitations of the prior art by providing a method and apparatus by which a patient may be kept clean, odors minimized, and embarrassing or uncomfortable situations reduced for the patient and care giver, alike.
It is a further object to provide an apparatus easily affixed about a patient in an adjustable manner and which is adaptable to a wide variety of patients, as well as being flexible in use. The invention should also be comfortable against a patient's skin and not cause irritation or prevent the complete removal of waste therefrom.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a system that is small, lightweight, and portable for use in hospital, residential, and less refined and protected environments.
In view of the above described deficiencies associated with the use of known waste evacuation systems, the present invention has been developed to alleviate these drawbacks and provide further benefits to the user. These enhancements and benefits are described in greater detail hereinbelow with respect to several alternative embodiments of the present invention.